A guide to the 113th Congress

Photos: The newest lawmakers

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic from 2004-2006. Assistant district attorney for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office until January 2012.

ELECTION 2012 HIGHLIGHT: Marched in the Boston gay pride parade this summer with retiring Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, the gay rights pioneer whose seat he’s taking. It occurred to Kennedy that the idea of thousands of people cheering an openly gay congressman would have been hard to fathom when Frank was elected to the House in 1980.

KEY ISSUES: The economy is top priority; interested in expanding educational opportunities, early childhood education and workforce development.

COMMITTEE: Foreign Affairs

WHAT YOUR COLLEAGUES SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU: Has a twin brother who works at the Commerce Department.

FUN FACT: Speaks Spanish after his time promoting ecotourism in South America. — James Hohmann

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: “I pioneered the modern Land Bank concept through my work in conceptualizing and founding the Genesee County Land Bank, an important new approach to revitalization of distressed land and buildings. This idea is now considered a model for others across the nation, and in 2007 I was awarded the Harvard University Innovations in Government Award for my work.”

ELECTION 2012 HIGHLIGHT: “I was proud to garner the early support of key constituencies and clear the Democratic field for a congressional seat last open in 1976.”

KEY ISSUES: “Instead of ending tax breaks for billionaires and oil companies, the majority in Congress has time and time again protected tax giveaways for the wealthiest among us. I believe we should be protecting working-class Americans instead of tax breaks for the rich.”

COMMITTEE: Financial Services

WHAT YOUR COLLEAGUES SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU: “My passion — and the focus of my career — has centered on the revitalization of America’s older industrial cities like my hometown of Flint.”

FUN FACT: “My first popular vote victory, albeit a much narrower win than my congressional race, was in the fourth grade at St. Luke Catholic School, when I won a schoolwide contest for the kid with the most freckles.” — Bobby Cervantes

EDUCATION: B.A. in public affairs, Princeton University; certificate in American studies, Princeton University; Ph.D. in social policy, University of Oxford

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: First elected to the state House in 2005; became state senator in 2007; his proudest achievements were three bills he passed as vice chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Community and Family Policy Division for work on behalf of veterans and their families.

ELECTION 2012 HIGHLIGHT: “I was really proud of the endorsement I got from The News Tribune in Tacoma … They said, ‘He has a profound understanding of job creation and grass-roots economics — expertise that’s desperately needed in Congress. He also possesses a quality that’s too scarce in Washington, D.C.: genuine niceness.’ My 102-year-old grandmother was really proud to hear her grandson described as nice.”

KEY ISSUES: Will continue his work on behalf of military families and veterans. Additionally, as the son of two teachers, Kilmer aims to expand educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math “to provide new tools for workforce development.”

COMMITTEE: Armed Services

WHAT YOUR COLLEAGUES SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU: “I actually lost 90 pounds over the course of 15 months in order to save money on life insurance. Some people call themselves fiscal conservatives; my wife says I’m just cheap.”

FUN FACT: “I met my wife, Jennifer, while sitting next to her on the airplane on the way to England. I was heading to Oxford as a Marshall scholar.” — Tal Kopan